Rods, Reels and Line

Not sure why anyone would need to dropshot…just kidding. Brandon is a dropshot hammer, the dropshot is a staple on the Elites, so this is the rod BP and Alpha owner Jake “shakalaka” Boomer crafted to be the “all that” wimp stick — meaning it ain’t just fer dropshottin’:

> “…the rod is a bit heavier than the industry standard. …can be used both for deep water smallmouth or bed-fishing largemouth in the jungle.

Huh. Where does one sign up to be a rod-tester exactly? Sounds like fun. Gitcha one here, and here’s BP talkin’ ’bout it:

Y’all know I make fun of spinning gear but dang it there’s times you HAVE TO use it…just not as much as Cody Meyer thinks (lol). Anyhow, Okuma came out with the Epixor XT which sounds like a pretty cool reel because it has new stuff specifically for using braid. That a good idea or what? John Bretza from Okuma explains it in this vid:

These rods aren’t new but they might be the rods that intrigue me the most right now. Designed by Gary Loomis, former owner of G. Loomis, and super high-end, they sell for $500 — lotsa coin, but not as much as what I think is the most expensive bassin’ stick in the universe, the G. Loomis NRX.

Believe the Z-Bone’s are hand-crafted in Texas. Cool, but…not sure if that’s cooler than the deep-fried Coca Cola served at the TX State Fair:

Sunline’s got a new fluoro! For use with all moving baits, it has a little more stretch than most fluoros, and has Sunline’s P-Ion technology — which “alters the line’s surface, making it slicker, more abrasion-resistant, and longer-lasting.” Here’s Johnny Crews talkin’ ’bout it:

Sunline also has 2 new braids, Siglon PEx4 and Siglon PEx8. I know these lines have small diameter, less color bleed and high abrasion resistance, but I don’t know much beyond that. Will learn ya when I know tho!

Not new but still stellar. First time I fished it was at the Niagara River, NY for big smallmouths around zebra mussels. Can’t remember if I used 6-lb or chickened out a little and used 8-lb, but either way I never broke off. Crazy.

Goes all the way up to 25-lb so if you’re a-fishin’ around some sketchy junk, give it a shot. If you truly can’t float that expense, word from a few guides I know is Seaguar Red Label fluoro is pretty dang good.

First Shimano comes out with “Cumara” rods, and now the new Curado “K” baitcasters — why don’t they come out with a “Kumar” something already — I mean, just go all the way Shimano dang it!

Lol, okay — the new Curado. It’s a Curado — how can you not like it? They can talk about all the tech features — MicroModule, SVS Infinity, X-Ship — but there’s the only thing that matters: It’s a Shimano. I don’t need to know all the tech in my Toyota truck — it just starts every dang time and is comfy. Am I making sense?

The new Curado ain’t green, but guess that’ll help me know which is which?

Shout-out to Daiwa Tatula Elite rods (casting, spinning). Listened at ICAST to all the Daiwa Elitists and FLWers talk about the rods they designed for specific applications, and it was pretty durn impressive. I mean, who in their right mind says to a pro, “Yep, we’ll make you a hair-jig rod and mass-produce it?”

Other bassin’ stuff

Have this vision that bass-heads 20 years from now will have pasty-white skin like this:

I’m almost serious. And if anything like that happens, we’ll all be thankin’ Buff. Because if you bass-fish, you Buff. And now their arm sleeves and gloves are becoming the next big thing…and make us bass-heads look kinda like superheroes so that’s good.

Love that Strike King is on the old-school French Fry! 4.5″ of whatever you wanna use it for, but personally I’m hopin someone wins a big derby on a Carolina-rigged Fry. Do you hear me Guy Eaker?? Paulie Elias? A-Mart? Anyone?

The often-imitated Rapala Jigging Rap — used here for walleyes and ice — is being used by some bass guys now. Berkley has an interesting twist to it — just the head part, and the ability to add soft-plastics. If it works, could be something?

6. Megabass 110 Silent Jerkbait

One of the best jerkbaits ever so anything new is newsworthy:

> “After years of experimentation and an entirely new internal mold, the 110 Silent features a more compact and perfectly-placed fixed tungsten weight.”

BB Funny ICAST Stuff Awards!

Not comprehensive, just stuff that tickled me — in no particular order:

Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass.

The best, worst and funniest in bassin'! Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin™. Make sure you sign up for the BassBlaster email!